Revenge, the core notion underlying relations between indigenous hunters-herders and predators on the Yakutia taiga

Abstract

This article considers the notion of revenge as an agency of wolves, bears and the master-spirits in the animistic worldview of indigenous Eveny and Sakha hunters and the reindeer herders of the Eveno-Bytantaiskii and Tomponskii ulusy (districts) of North Yakutia. Predators are perceived by hunters and herders as conscious non-human beings that can enter into relations with humans on a reciprocal basis. The possibility that predators may carry out revenge on people can be perceived as showing that there are similarities between humans and non-human predators. This article shows how the notions of reciprocity, similarity and relational symmetry between people and predators are reflected in the narratives and hunting rituals of indigenous hunters and herders. As comparative examples, the blood feud customs that earlier existed among the Tungus, Sakha people and Chukchee clans are also considered here. Although these customs no longer exist in the contemporary societies of the indigenous people of Yakutia, the notions underlying them very much reflect the human-predator relations on the taiga today.